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Project Description Engagement
(Q1 & Q2 2025) Gathering feedback on the scope and scale of specific project details.Project Description (Q1 & Q2 2025)
Environmental Effects Evaluation (Q3 & Q4 2025)
Reporting Out (Q1 & Q2 2026)
Anticipated PRPA Determination (Q3 2026)
Project Documents
- Project Description
FAQ's
What is ammonia?
Ammonia is a naturally occurring gas – produced, for example, during biological decomposition – which can also be synthetically manufactured. It has a sharp and distinctive odour which is noticeable even at very low concentrations. You probably encounter it day-to-day, particularly in liquid form and in products such as household cleaners. It is widely used as an agricultural fertilizer. In chemical terms, ammonia is a very stable compound of three nitrogen and one hydrogen molecule.
What types of ammonia would be handled at Trigon
Trigon proposes to provide open-market access for ammonia from various manufacturing facilities in Alberta and BC. As new energy-related uses of ammonia and hydrogen grows around the world, we expect demand and therefore manufacturing in Canada to focus on ammonia produced with carbon capture and storage (CCS technology).
What are the end uses of ammonia?
Ammonia has a wide range of uses, but the large bulk of global production today – at least 70% – is turned into agricultural fertilizer. The nitrogen within ammonia is one of the main “macronutrients” needed for plant growth. Ammonia was a foundation of the “agricultural revolution” and remains key in meeting global food demand.
There are also various industrial and manufacturing uses for ammonia, including plastics, fabrics, pesticides, dyes and pharmaceuticals. Ammonia is commonly used in industrial refrigeration systems, including facilities such as community skating rinks, and in waste and wastewater treatment. Diluted with water, ammonia also makes an excellent household cleaner.
Looking forward, ammonia and hydrogen are poised to become very important fuels, and Trigon expects that the ammonia exports we propose to handle would be used for this purpose.
What’s the connection between ammonia and hydrogen?
Hydrogen, along with nitrogen, is what ammonia is made up of. Hydrogen can be converted into ammonia by being bonded with nitrogen, and can then be extracted from ammonia through a reversal of this process. This creates the potential for ammonia to be used as a “hydrogen carrier”, and a more efficient and safer means of handling and storing hydrogen. This can be thought of as “hydrogen-as-ammonia”.
A lot of the current discussion of the emerging “hydrogen economy”, and of specific manufacturing projects, is in fact about ammonia. The two substances are very closely related. Both are versatile in terms of their potential energy-related end uses, and neither emits any carbon dioxide when burned.
Supply chains exist already for both ammonia and hydrogen, and manufacturing methods and handling and transportation practices are well understood, as are all relevant safety considerations. This positions countries like Canada well for a fast, safe and cost-effective ramp-up of the manufacture of low-carbon ammonia and hydrogen, leveraging existing infrastructure and expertise.
Isn’t ammonia hazardous/toxic?
If handled improperly, ammonia could pose various risks, which is why ammonia handling, storage and transportation are all subject to stringent regulatory requirements and oversight.
From a human health perspective, concentrations of ammonia can irritate the skin, eyes and lungs, and can be fatal, if inhaled in large quantities. These same risks apply to wildlife. An ammonia release into water could harm fish and other aquatic species. Large releases could also damage soil and plants. Ammonia can be flammable in sufficient concentrations, although it has a relatively high ignition temperature.
Trigon is committed to a multi-layered safety approach including safety-enhancing design features and operational procedures at the facility. While these built-in protective redundancies will minimize the risk of releases, they will also be combined with comprehensive detection and containment capabilities, and with rigorous emergency-response preparation, training and readiness.
Why does ammonia make sense for Trigon/Prince Rupert?
As a result of the Canadian government’s decision to ban thermal coal exports by 2030, Trigon needs to diversify our operations. This will help secure local jobs and other local economic benefits that might otherwise be lost, and it will enable us to continue to put our expertise and infrastructure to good, value-added uses.
In helping to make the ammonia/hydrogen economy a reality, we will also create economic opportunity across Western Canada, enable domestic use of these important new fuels here in Canada, and make a significant contribution to the global effort to combat climate change.
We strongly believe that we are competitively well-positioned, and we are confident in our ability to safely handle ammonia.
Where will the ammonia come from and how will it get to Trigon?
The ammonia we propose to handle would be sourced from Alberta initially and potentially from northern British Columbia in the longer term. The geology and history of industrial development in Alberta make it well-suited for carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) at ammonia manufacturing sites. In both cases, the ammonia would be transported to Trigon by rail.
What will you build and where?
Trigon’s ammonia facility would be located adjacent to our existing coal operations on Ridley Island, on land that we lease from the Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA).
Two specific locations are being considered. One is a 14-ha site that is currently being used for construction activities in support of our Berth Two Beyond Carbon. The other is the western portion of the lands that we refer to as “Area A”, which are not in active use today but industrial zoned, cleared and partially serviced. Both sites are adjacent to the PRPA’s existing Road and Rail Utility Corridor, which can accommodate the rail spurs and unloading racks that would be needed for ammonia handling.
We propose to build one intermediate pressurized storage sphere and one refrigerated and non-pressurized circular storage tank, about 50 meters high and similar in appearance to the existing tank used for propane storage. Ammonia would then be transferred onto marine vessels using our new second berth. Additional piping, loading arms and supporting infrastructure will also be needed.
What community impacts (traffic, noise, visibility etc.) will there be?
Some noise and traffic impacts would be unavoidable during construction, although Trigon will make all reasonable efforts to minimize them. We work closely with local communities and stakeholders to understand potential areas of concern and put mitigation measures in place. We have already left a large, uncleared buffer or trees on the east side of “Area A” to moderate noise and visibility impacts in Port Edward specifically.
A camp will be used to house some construction workers, and the project will have its own first responders/ first aid services to minimize the burden on local health care services.
Running at two million metric tonnes per year, the facility would see the arrival of one unit train every two days (a train carrying a single commodity). Given the expected reduction in rail traffic resulting from the ban on thermal coal exports starting in 2030, Trigon expects the volume of rail traffic to be similar to today.
What community benefits (procurement, employment, etc.) will there be?
Based on the experience of similar projects, we anticipate that at the peak construction activity, there would be 300 people working on site.
Trigon’s practice is to hire local residents as much as possible – with a particular focus on expanding training and employment opportunities for Indigenous people – and to purchase goods and services locally, whenever feasible. The proportion of local vs. non-local construction workers will depend on a number of factors, including other projects in the area that may be underway at the time.
At this point, we cannot estimate how many permanent new jobs will be created, but we do know that a larger workforce will be needed. In better securing the future of our terminal, the project will also ensure the continuation of other significant local benefits, including community investments and revenues flowing to local governments.
What’s the likelihood of a release from your facility, and how will you avoid it?
At Trigon, the likelihood of an ammonia release of anything greater than drops of a few millimeters would be very low. We would take a multi-layered safety approach to minimize the risk and impacts of a release, involving:
- A wide range of safety-enhancing design features and operational procedures, such that even if one or more were ineffective in specific circumstances others would nevertheless serve to prevent a leak from occurring.
- Ongoing monitoring and rapid detection capabilities, combined with an ability to quickly eliminate product flow to and isolate a specific area of the facility, and to contain any leak that may have occurred.
- Rigorous emergency response training and readiness so that response efforts would be activated immediately and coordinated effectively, and so as to safeguard public health and well-being while minimizing environmental and other impacts.